One of the problems I have found with blogs is that I have so many I want to keep track of.  The cool photography blogs and recipe blogs can get out of hand if I get behind in reading for a few days. Friends, families and clients ask us to send them emails whenever we update our blog.  I have this feature available on our blog, however it is something I have to initiate with every entry. Thus the complete awesomeness of Feed Blitz Blog Mail. 

This cool little service will send you an email each day with all your blogs that have been updated.  You basically get a one stop shop to your information, friends and updates.  The service is easy to setup.  Just fill out a simple form online and then add your favorite blog feeds.  Each morning you will receive an email with photos, articles, messages and updates from all your favorite blogs. 

Feed blitz has made my updates easier to get and I never miss anything that is going on.  Check out Feed Blitz today to make your blog life easier!

Posted by danny at 03:30 PM | Permalink

My little brother Stephen hung out with me today at the studio. 

In between sessions we worked on a little video for his myspace page.  He is amazed at how much work was involved with creating this little 4 minute diddy.  So, if you are looking for something to do or just have about 4 minutes to waste (not including download time) please enjoy Stephens video.

(Click The Image Below)

Posted by danny at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you haven't noticed I am a little behind in our blogging but we are getting caught up. 

With all the families and kids coming in this week here are a couple of my weekly favorites.  The Johnson family brought their 93 year old grandmother in for a family portrait.  She was a real hoot and I could only imagine what their Thanksgiving was like.  It is wonderful to see families together for Thanksgiving.  The Johnson's family portrait was one of my favorites from the group. 

Tiffany's brother seemed a little nervous getting his portrait taken.  I think of all the images we made this was one of my all time favorites.  They all just looked so happy to be together.  Do you think he is the favorite Uncle?

As usual, we had a lot of fun with this group!

Earlier we also photographed the Sherman family.  This group of kids really made my day.  Each one of them had a great attitude and awesome smiles.  They also got a big kick out my turkey call.  As usual we had to get a few cool images.  This is one of my favorite group shots.

Yep you guessed it.  Five kids with the youngest being 8. 

I couldn't imagine what it would be like being the youngest of these five.  They were all a lot of fun.  I especially love getting those sweet sister moments too. 

This family was a tight bunch.  I actually had a hard time getting them to NOT smile.  Hope you guys all had a great time!

Posted by danny at 07:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My favorite thing about this week is getting to visit with all the families.  Some would say I enjoy this time because I get lots of new audiences for all my silly jokes.  Either way it is fun. 

The Carmenates family came by with all 15 yes that's right 13 people. 

We originally wanted to do this outdoors but the weather was not going to cooperate with us so I came up with something different.  When you have groups this big you can't get too creative.  Sticking with the technical is important so everyone works together. 

Janet is the godmother of our two little ones.  She recently got married and we were happily part of the wedding party. 

Janet's brother Nelson is a real cool cat like Janet.  They are a great family with two beautiful children.

Their youngest looks like a mini-Janet.  She had these great big brown eyes. 

Janet's sister Maria was there too.  This family reminds me a lot of mine with teenage kids.  Its always fun hanging with teens because they usually think your a dork and that just gets me going more. 

The family got together for Janet's mother who is the sweetest lady.  Janet's dad is a just as cool too.  Of all the pictures we took, I think this one is my favorite. 

We hope you guys like your preview Janet!  Happy Thanksgiving Carmenates Family.

Posted by danny at 06:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This year was the year I didn't cook anything.  Even though I love to cook it just wasn't going to be possible.  But never fear!  We will share a couple of our family recipes from Thanksgiving here.

Ma'ma's family was in town so we hung out with the Louisiana crew all day.  Ba Ba and Pa Pa Louie were busy pillaging Wendy's recipe box.

Pa Pa Louie calls Whitney a Magnolia because she is just sooo pretty.  Now when you say this to Whitney you have to pronounce it with a real Cajun accent like MAG-A-NOL-EEE-YA.  My dad has a big magnolia tree out front so Whitney went to find a magic magnolia leaf.

After Whitney made her wish with the magnolia leaf the turkey appeared ready to carve.

Here is a little triple turkey if you ask me.

Oh and those of you that don't know my dad.  He is in a wheelchair due to foot surgery.  It was a real treat having him roll over our feet all day.

Oh and you can't forget the ever popular Clark Family Cranberry Sauce.  Click the link to get the recipe.

I was asked to carve the turkey with a dull knife.  This is a lot of fun because dull knives go through skin rather easily.  I just couldn't help myself while carving so I had to take a small delicate bite of the juicy turkey.

Once we were ready everyone got to getting down with the dinner plate.

I told my bro Stuart I don't really see why we need to eat on plates.  They just slow you down and give you more to clean up later.  I suggested we skip the plates and eat directly off the stove. 

After the first round of thankful gluttony we enjoyed a little light music from James and Stuart.  James is learning to beat box.  We haven't found a "school of beat boxing" in Houston yet but hopefully someone will start one.

Stuart played a gentle version of Jingle Bells on the drums for us.

Soon after it started it got real ugly and LOUD!

We took the opportunity to take a few portraits.  My little man needs a haircut bad!

My sweet babies.  They are growing up WAY too fast!

Ba Ba and Pa Pa Louie were snuggling up for the camera too.

Then we got the wide angle toy out and took a bunch of big head portraits. First up my bro Pickle.

Little big man coughing in my face.

The princess showing her dance moves.

Dan with his boot.  Poor little Pa Pa.

Oh here is Pa Pa right before he gets sick of the camera being in his face.

Here he is going from 2 to 10.  Somebody didn't eat enough turkey...

Stuart with his big eyes and stupid shirt.  Also, notice the two children behind him playing in the street.  That's right, we were all told to go outside and play in the street. 

And finally Ma Ma trying to avoid the camera.  At least she smiled.

Before we go I would like to address that my brothers are not right.  There is something definitely wrong with two boys that manage to take anything around them and turn it into a game.  While Dan watched football my brothers  took his wheelchair and started to play with it outside. 

I wanted to offer advice that it would be a lot more fun if we had a football or tennis ball so we could make this into a proper sporting event.  But then I realized that I too must suffer from the same issues that torment their pathetic minds.

We had a great day and we got right back to the studio first thing Friday morning.  We hope your family enjoyed Thanksgiving as much as we did.  

Posted by danny at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is one of our families favorite recipes.  Rarely do we get to enjoy such a timeless treat.  This year we would like to pass the recipe on to you.  Please cherish this as we have and let us know what you think.  Send us a picture of your families cranberry sauce and we just might send you a gift.

Prep Time:  1 Hour

1 Can Cranberry Sauce

1 Gold Rimmed Plate

 Open Can from both ends and gently plop the cylinder of jelly on the plate.  Serve cold or at room temperature.

For those spicy nights you can add a little flare to the dish by gently running a butter knife through the jelly to create "slices".  Garnish with pecans and enjoy with your favorite holiday meats.

Posted by danny at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Jasmine and her little sister Maya got an early Christmas gift this year.  They got a new little brother!  This little guy was just a little over two weeks old and the girls couldn't stop loving on him. 

They were both so excited about Devin that it showed in their eyes. 

Maya is one of Whitney's old classmates from Bethany.  These girls have all grown up so fast!

Jasmine and Maya will be awesome big sisters.  I am sure Devin will give them a run for their money.

Posted by danny at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We photographed Greyson when he was just little guy and last week he brought by his little sister for a photo shoot. 

Landry was the coolest little newborn with mucho chunk on the arms!  We love the chubby babies!  I love this picture of her.  She looked like she wanted to throw a punch at the camera man. 

Greyson is a great big brother now and is getting to be as cool as his dad. 

It was great getting to see this happy family once again!  We hope you all love your pictures!

Posted by danny at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We interrupt this afternoon with an image that is best viewed while listening to loud music 

Thanks for stopping by this morning Ike!  We had a blast!

Posted by danny at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tonight we hosted a party for the ever famous Maroon Monkeys end of year event.  It was a nice little change of pace for the Clark crew and everyone seemed to have a great time. 

My little man James was my Chocolate Chip Cookie Tester.  He tore that cookie up!

We had Double Dave's Pizza brought in and a big box of pizza rolls.

We also made this awesome salad that my cousin in Dallas hooked me up with.  Thanks Kari for the great recipe!  Everyone enjoyed the salad.  As promised I said I would include the recipe here on the blog. 

Click here to get to the recipe for Southwest Cornbread Salad.

I bought a bunch of soccer balls for the girls to sign as a gift.  Each girl signed each ball to go along with their trophy. 

After we ate and the girls ran around the studio, we took a few portraits of each girl.  Trying to get them to look tough wasn't hard but couch was a little nervous about being cool.

I tried to get a tough look and sweet look from each girl.  Tough looks were hard to come up with and we were all stocked up on sweet.

Little Ms. Evan's sweet look.

Tough Nike look! JUST DO IT!

Christina was super intimidating with those big eyes.  Don't let the sweet smile fool you.  She can take your shins out with one full sweep!

Sweet Look!

Adidas Tough Look! IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING!

Selena was a real tough one on the field.

Sweet Selena!

Tough Under Amour Selena! CLICK-CLACK!

Little Ms. Mackenzie was all smiles on the field. 

Sweet Mac!

Tough Umbro Mac!  CONTROL FREAK!

Sarah had this great Monkey dance she did for us while warming up on the field.

Sweet Sarah.

Tough Reebok Sarah!  I AM WHAT I AM!

And lastly we have little Maddie.  She looks sweet but I saw her hunt down another player like a wild monkey hunts down whatever it is that wild monkeys hunt. 

Sweet Maddie!

Tough PUMA Maddie!  EVERY 96 HOURS!

And lastly we had the whole team get together for group tough shot.  Man is this a mean looking group of soccer fans!

But we couldn't end the evening without the sweetest couple of girls around.  Whitney and Molly got to play together today too and they were excited to get their picture taken. 

Thanks everyone for coming to the studio.  We love our print and its going on the wall first thing in the morning!

Posted by danny at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is an awesome salad that is easy to make.  Try it out on your thankful feasting family this Thanksgiving and let us know what you think!

Posted by danny at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am a proud PC user and have spent a lot of time working with a PC.  In the photography industry there seems to be a lot of people that use macs.  I have had a number of discussions and arguments about mac or PC but it has never resulted in the need to dance like this.  But all I can say is that the PC guy is  a much better, funky dancer than the mac guy.

Posted by danny at 07:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My man Jason came by the studio today to get his portrait taken.  This little guy was lookin slick in his holiday gear.  Mom had to help us out a little bit at first but he loosened up and we got lots of really great images.  Here is your sneak peak mommy! 

Jason was a little shy but he was willing to help me get a good picture of our teddy bear.  I told him the bear wanted to get his picture taken so we needed him to hold him very still.  This was one of my favorites. 

We finished off the morning with a lolly pop and great game a peak-a-boo. 

Jason's dad wasn't able to be there today because he was traveling.  Hope you like the preview dad and you get home safely!

Posted by danny at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few weeks back Farrah Braniff and I had the honor of photographing Aichell and Christopher's wedding. 

The wedding was at The Holy Rosary Catholic Church downtown.  This old church was pretty and the coolest thing was the organ player.  I hung out with her in the balcony waiting for the ever popular "first kiss".  The Organ player was quite interesting and had specific instructions on how close I could stand to her or her organ...  Oh and an organ is much louder in the balcony than on the floor of a church. 

Chris was ready much earlier than his groomsmen but he helped get everyone around him.  Here he is helping one of his groomsmen fix his tie.

Chris was surrounded by a bunch of people that helped keep him entertained.  These two guys were a riot.  The guy on the left LOVED the camera and the one on the right was a little more subdued.

After we took a bunch of preliminary portraits I headed over to see what the girls were doing.  I told Whitney before I left that I would make sure and take a picture of the flower girls dresses.  This little flower girl was in another world with her little wedding dress and the huge mirror. I couldn't tell if she was pretending to hold a champaign glass, martini glass or a petite-four sandwich.

The wedding went down without a hitch and we headed over to the party.  The reception was held at The Gallery.  The Gallery is a very cool reception facility with lots of great places to take portraits.  Before the reception got started Aichell and Christopher were off in another part of the building having a little quiet time.  This is a good time for us to regroup with the bride an groom and get a few fun photos of the rings.

The party got kicked off and these people liked to dance.  Its fun to get right in the middle of people celebrating.  Lots of great energy in the room!

This little girl danced the night away.  Literally she was on the dance floor almost the entire night and man could that girl MOVE!

Occasionally the bride and groom will peal away for a few seconds to just enjoy a little quiet.  I grabbed a couple quick shots of the happy couple just before the evening ended.

Congratulations Aichell and Chris!  Thanks for letting Farrah and I be a part of your special day.

Posted by danny at 09:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

 One of my buddies in the photography industry mentioned this book to me a while back and I recently just finished reading it.

Usually when I read business strategy books they tend to be a little dull.  "Boom - Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer - The Baby Boomer Woman" by Mary Brown and Carol Osborn was far from dull.  

The Boomer woman are sophisticated shoppers that are not always a marketing focus.  Boom helps the marketer identify where they can accommodate the Boomer woman.  With helpful charts and assessment tools the reader can identify where their Boomer Women marketing is lacking. 

Until I had read "Boom" I never really took much notice to the Baby Boomer woman.  Over the last few weeks I have listened to my customers closely.  A lot of our new moms purchase their maternity and new born portraits through their mothers.  Almost every first year portrait involves a decision by the grandmother.  Most of our wedding photography consultations are also met with decisions and budgets set forth by the brides Baby Boomer mother.  This week alone we have booked over 10 sessions by Baby Boomer women that have their families coming in town over the Thanksgiving holidays.  

The market of fine art portrait photography is highly driven by the Baby Boomer women.  They are not a group you can manipulate with sales talk and fast advertising.  They demand attention to detail, their personal needs and what is important to their family. 

If you run a  business or even work in a corporate environment this is a must read. 

Posted by danny at 05:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My really cool aunt Cathy sent me this website the other day.  If you looking for anything that has to do with Santa than check out The North Pole.  The best part is the kitchen with every cookie, cake and bread recipe you could think of.

 Thanks for the crazy website Aunt Cathy! 

Posted by danny at 08:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Little Ms. Morgan came by to visit us today.  This little Gerber baby is just too perfect.  She was in a great mood then got really silly after she had a BM.  Like it or not the Christmas season is here!

Posted by danny at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sometimes dogs just get the right owners and Izzy sure picked a good one. 

Margaret was so excited when Izzy's artwork came in today.  We took her photo with the 60X40 gallery wrap so she could show her friends.  We absolutely love it when our clients get to see their images in print.  Especially when they are enormous!

Posted by danny at 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday night I had the pleasure of photographing a private party at Anderson Fair.   

 My neighbor Chris got me involved with this party (Thanks for letting hang with you guys).  The party was a surprise so that always adds to the fun.

This was actually the first time I have been to Anderson Fair.  My other neighbor Bruce Bryant is working on this great film about Anderson Fair and the birthplace of some of the greatest music ever to hit your ears.  The documentary is called "For The Sake of The Song".  Check out the website and donate to the Anderson Fair Project!

One of my favorite things about the place was this great wall of portraits.  Having the opportunity to photograph someone that is influential in the arts is pretty cool.  When I grow up I want to be the guy all the musicians want to have their portraits done by.  Until then I will keep playing with my Wide Angel Toys and photographing families!

The guys from Goode Company BBQ catered the party.  Good BBQ, good music and a fun atmosphere makes for a pretty good party. 

That Pecan Pie is just awesome!  You can order them direct.  They also have these great tents setup right before Thanksgiving where they sell them fresh. 

Our studio is on the same street as the BBQ restaurant so we always eat their grub.  Tuesday and Friday's smell pretty good in our parking lots.  That's when the smokers get really fired up. 

The best part was that Adam Carroll was the guest performer for the party. 

If you are not familiar with Adam Carroll you really should.  He is a great song writer and has a pretty easy going humble personality as well. 

We had a great time and captured some fun images.  These are the types of things we really look forward too.  The only thing is I wish Denise could have been there.  This was the second time was listening to Adam Carroll and she couldn't be there.  The last time she was 8 months pregnant with James and I was throwing a private party for Uncle Jimmy.

Posted by danny at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This morning we had 5 young ladies from St. Thomas Episcopal school come by for a portrait party.  These are a lot of fun especially when the kids are as cool as these.  Usually it takes a good hour just to get the kids to relax and have fun but these girls dove right in.  They all went to breakfast at the 59 diner first then joined us at the studio.  Apparently they are all big fans of The Next Top Model.

They even let me play with my wide angle adapter on them.  I made each one do something silly for their big head portrait!

We all had a lot of fun but they really tired me out.  The best was when they were stopping traffic to tell them they were Vogue models. 

We even got out the Texas Monthly Lighting with lots of great attitude. 

Thanks for coming by girls!  We had a blast!

Posted by danny at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Mark was a great father and a very loving husband.  He has two great sons, Mark Jr. and Andrew that are as easy going and charming as their dad.

Words alone cannot express how sorry we are to hear this news.  With his unexpected death, we ask everyone to keep Mark's wife, Monna and her entire family in your prayers.

Posted by danny at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of my favorite thing about the holiday season is getting to see all the families from previous years.  Its nice to watch these families grow up. 

Cam and Nash showed up this week to party with the Clarks. 

These boys are growing up and Nash is full of energy.  He is really talking up a storm.   

Cam is probably the best kid in the world. I don't think we have ever had a kid so well behaved in all our years.  He knows how to have a good time too. 

It was great seeing these guys again.  Cool kids and cool parents, what else can a photographer ask or.  Thanks for coming by guys! 

Posted by danny at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My grandfather, Dr. Charles Clark, recently had his novel "Return to Dos Encinos" chosen as a finalist for the Violet Crown Award through the Writers League of Texas.  This book is the sequel to "Trails To Dos Encinos" and is a great read.  If you dig the old west than grab these two books and have a read.  They make great Christmas gifts too!

Congrats Daddy Clark! 

Posted by danny at 09:41 PM | Permalink

My cousin Kari in Dallas sent us some pictures of their boys Michael and Jacob.  Kari went all out with robin hood and a pirate.   

Dad's costume was my favorite.  He really pulled that "Guy at home form work" look real well.

 Kari's brother Chad in San Antonio sent me pictures of little Nicole.  She was a Texas Tech cheerleader.  I think that is one of the scariest pumpkins around. 

Those pig tails are too much!

 Thanks for the pictures guys!  We miss you all.

Posted by danny at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Recently we have started photographing more and more weddings and with that comes the need for new toys.  One of the needs is for super wide angel shots.  The only problem is that the lenses for this only have about a 5 image use in a wedding.  So the expense to use ratio is silly.  However, having a studio next door to guys that have really cool video production toys have pointed me to another fun solution. 

I purchased this crazy little wide angle converter.  It is not as smooth and sharp as a true super wide angle lens but it definitely will get the effect.  So like any other photographer with children we try all our new equipment on them first. 

Don't you just love giant kid faces!  Especially little Batman's face!

The coolest thing about this adapter is that it creates this razor thin depth of field when you shoot wide open.  Can't wait to use it on our next crazy wedding adventure!

Posted by danny at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)